Bain & Company has elected Bob Bechek to become the firm's new worldwide Managing Director per 1st of March 2012. Bechek will succeed Steve Ellis, who served seven years as the Managing Director of the strategy consulting firm.

Bob Bechek is currently partner of Bain's Boston office and the Northeast (US) region. He was previously co-head of the firm's Global Telecom, Media and Technology Practice. Bechek joined Bain in 1993 from a Silicon Valley strategy consulting firm (Knowledge Edge) he co-founded in 1989.

Prior to that, he was Vice-President and General Manager of AKR Robotics, a company he started in the U.S. after working in the mechanical research and development (R&D) department of the parent company in France. Bechek has gained an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“Bob is a role model for Bain's values and is deeply committed to building on Bain's nearly 40 years of leadership in our industry,” said Steve Ellis, Bain's current worldwide Managing Director. “With his leadership qualities, client service track record, and exceptional strategy and operations skills, Bob will successfully lead the firm through the next phase of our growth.”